As reported by the New York Times earlier this week, Google has announced a major update for its Translate app with real-time conversational translation and Word Lens integration.

Thanks to Word Lens translation, users will be able to get instant translation of street signs, advertisements and more by pointing their phone’s camera to it. The translation will be overlaid on the screen and will work even without an active data connection. Google had acquired Word Lens in May last year and is using their technology to achieve this.

While the Translate app was already capable of this, the process was not instant and required an internet connection to work.

Additionally, Google is also introducing real-time speech translation to the app with this update. Simply tap the microphone icon in the new Google Translate app and start speaking in a selected language. Tap again and speak in the second language. Now, you can continue the conversation without tapping the microphone again as app will automatically detect the languages spoken and convert them in real-time.

The update will be rolled out through the Google Play Store over the next few days.

➤ Google Translate (Free)